Mount Tam Racket Club Redevelopment Clears Planning Commission 5-0 After Hours of Pushback

At 1 Larkspur Plaza Drive, the Planning Commission voted 5-0 to approve tearing down the entire former Mount Tam Racket Club — roughly 50,000 square feet of existing buildings and courts — and replacing it with 14 new structures totaling 10,750 square feet, eight outdoor clay tennis courts, and 77 parking spaces. Applicant One Larkspur Plaza LLC, represented by owner Mark Harris and architect Herb Jones, needed five separate entitlements: design review, a height exception (part of the clubhouse roof would rise to 30 feet 3 inches against a 25-foot limit), a fence exception allowing vegetative barriers up to 12 feet 3 inches, a heritage tree removal permit for six trees, and a grading permit for nearly 5,300 cubic yards of cut and fill.

“I even offered to purchase the property myself specifically so that the existing indoor courts and the club could be preserved... he's not interested in selling.”— Gabriel Patino, longtime club member · ▶ Watch this exchange

Staff recommended approval, telling commissioners the board lacked authority to weigh in on a private club's amenities or membership model. "The commission does not have the discretion to deny or condition the project based on factors outside those required findings," staff said, adding that if the project failed the site could instead see "multi-story high-density housing." Commissioners agreed the project met the required findings and adopted Resolution 01-2026, granting a CEQA exemption alongside the approvals.

The hearing drew a long line of current and former members mourning the loss of indoor tennis and swimming, arguing the new all-clay, outdoor-only design shrinks what the club offers. "We are upset that Mark has never listened to us and the requests that we've had. There's no indoor swimming pool. There's no indoor tennis. It's just his vision," said Carol Duke, a 20-year member. Others, including nearby resident Debbie Horowitz and commercial property owner Tommy Lana, spoke in favor, calling it a serious reinvestment in an underused corner of Larkspur Plaza. Applicant Mark Harris described a bruising process: "I've been yelled at. I've been called an elitist... I've been spat on."

The commission ultimately sided with staff's reading of the law, with Chair Swisser noting she is herself a club member but felt able to rule objectively, and encouraged — without requiring — the applicant to consider hard courts, a larger pool, and saving one heritage redwood tree. The approval is final unless appealed to the City Council within 10 days.